Suffolk police investigate bank robbery at Lake Ronkonkoma TD Bank

Suffolk County police are investigating a bank robbery at the TD Bank branch on Portion Road in Lake Ronkonkoma after a man walked in, handed a teller a note demanding cash and fled on foot. The robbery happened at about 5:15 p.m. on May 8 at 474 Portion Road, a busy commercial stretch where workers, shoppers and evening commuters were still moving through the area.

The Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit said the teller complied with the demand before the suspect left the bank and got away before officers arrived. Police did not release a suspect description, did not say how much money was taken and reported no immediate word of injuries. Investigators are now relying on surveillance video, employee accounts, traffic cameras and any witnesses who may have seen the man leave the branch or head into the surrounding parking lots and side streets.

The case has the feel of a classic quick-hit bank robbery, with a simple note, a brief exchange at the counter and a getaway on foot. That puts the focus on bank security in a neighborhood setting where customers and workers expect routine transactions, not a police response. It also underscores how much these cases depend on what nearby businesses and passersby saw in the minutes after the robbery, especially along a corridor as active as Portion Road.

The episode also fits a broader pattern. In the FBI’s 2023 bank-crime report, branch offices accounted for 1,259 robberies nationwide, and commercial districts were the most common location type, with 836 robberies. Surveillance cameras were activated in 1,208 of the 1,362 total bank-crime violations counted. The FBI, which has had a primary role in bank robbery investigations since 1934, still works these cases with local law enforcement, although it focuses mainly on violent or serial robberies.

The same TD Bank branch at 474 Portion Road was robbed in 2010, when a man handed a teller a threatening note and fled westbound through the parking lot. That history gives the current investigation added local weight for Lake Ronkonkoma, where repeated bank crime on the same corridor raises questions about branch security and how quickly suspects can disappear into a dense retail area. Suffolk police said anyone with information should contact the Major Case Unit or Suffolk County Crime Stoppers.